79 percent of Americans back Russian oil ban: poll

Seventy-nine percent of Americans support a ban on Russian oil imports even if it drives up gas prices in the U.S., according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by The Wall Street Journal, found that only 13 percent of registered voters polled oppose a ban on Russian oil imports.

The poll asked 529 registered voters, “Would you favor or oppose the U.S. imposing new sanctions on Russia by banning the sale of Russian oil to the U.S., even if you knew it would cause U.S. energy prices to increase?”

Support for a prohibition on Russian oil imports received bipartisan support: 88 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans surveyed said they support the move.

Supporters of former President Trump were also largely in favor of the sanctions: 72 percent of polled voters who said they would support Trump in 2024 said they favor a ban on Russian oil imports.

The poll was conducted between March 4 and March 7. On Tuesday, President Biden announced that the U.S. would ban Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The United States is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy. We’re banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy,” Biden said Tuesday morning.

“That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another blow to Putin’s war machine,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the move, writing on Twitter Tuesday that he was thankful for the U.S. and Biden’s leadership “in striking in the heart of Putin’s war machine and banning oil, gas and coal from US market.”

The Biden administration had been hesitant to ban Russian oil imports as gas prices continue to rise, but the White House went forward with the move amid growing bipartisan calls to do so.

A poll conducted by Quinnipiac University found that 71 percent of adults polled would support a ban on Russian oil even if it means gas prices would increase in the U.S.

The margin of error for the Wall Street Journal poll was plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.